ALPHA 



A FEW POEMS COLLECTED TO COMMEMORATE THE 
FIRST HOME-COMING OF RICHSQUARE 

August 22, 1908 



By 
MERTON W. GRILLS 

Of Richsquare Academy 
Class of 1891 



THE NICHOLSON PRESS 

RICHMOND, IND. 

1908 



.1?' 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
I wo Copies Keceivt* 

AUG 31 19U8 

CLASS? O^ XXCjj N«. 



Copyright applied for, 1908, by Merton W. Grills 



lv ) 






Dedicated to the hallowed memory of 

William W. White 

My Instructor of academic days 



"Alpha" 

The Motto of the Class of '91 



The Class: 

JOSIE LEE PAUL-PETRO 

AARON F. WHITE 

OLIVE GILBERT-ELLIOTT 

MERTON W. GRILLS 

PARTHENIA NICHOLSON-STUBBS 



RICHSQUARE ACADEMY BUILDING 




WEST, 




INTRODUCTION 

This is my first poem for the public — a production for Richsquare 
Alumni, April 2, 1S98. I here present it as read at that time. I feel 
that I would like to make some changes at this date, now a decade is 
passed. Probably in another decade I could still make it better, but if 
changed it would not be the poem of the Alumni meeting of '98. So, 
reader, kindly consider it the product of youthful years and take it for 
what it is worth. 

A FEW weeks since my friend, Aaron White, — while 
I was here at Richsquare one night — made bold in 
a public place to say — and those who heard ; let him have 
his way, that Richsquare's Class of '91 out ranked all 
others under the sun because one of its members was 
a poet — I held my breath for I did not know it. I 
thot of Josie and the rhymes she wrote, but I'd never 
heard they were of note, I thot of "Tena" and Olive 
and then I listened to Mr. White again. I was holding 
my breath but I beg to say his next remark took it 
plum away. For he spoke out loud, no little squeak, 
"Mr. Grills is the one of whom I speak." I dropped 
my head — I was smitten dumb, I couldn't have told 
where I'd "cum frum," And while I was in this help- 
less state and trying my best to cogitate and make up 
my mind what was the best to do, 'twas moved and 
seconded and carried thru; that Mr. Grills be Alumni 
poet for '98 and write a poem for the date following 
the one that All-Fools use. (That bad measure please 
excuse.) 

Now hearers all, I'll call your attention to a re- 
mark or two that's worthy of mention. Poe, the poet, 
at one time said, "Poetry's not written from the head — 
It's all a matter of inspiration and can't be controlled 
by a man in the nation." And that, I believe, is a say- 
9 



ing true, and before I'm done you'll believe it too. 
That explains the reason why (you can't find another 
and needn't try) people talk of the Muses and myths 
like that. There are times when to write a poem comes 
just "pat" but at others, and I can't tell why, by far 
you'd better attempt to fly. 

Then when Holmes was talking at breakfast that 
time, he said ; most anyone could write a rhyme — but 
poems, they are different things that just come sailin' 
round on whigs and catch a man when he isn't 
thinkin', and make him white and feel like sinkin' — 
that in a second the poem is written. It makes no 
difference be one standin' or sittin'. Just copying poems 
is all men do — Just simply writin' the thot or two — 
this they can do very much at their leisure, using pen 
or pencil just to their pleasure. 

I've felt the shock — I know what it is to have a 
thot just come whiz and strike so hard and strike so 
clear I'd carry it for days, both far and near. At last 
to relieve myself of it my pencil and paper I'd have to 
get and write it down in words of my own that ran 
along with a musical tone. But the resolve I took upon 
that night was, an entire new poem for the time to 
write. I've grieved that I did it, but I'd promised true, 
and a promise to myself is sacred too, so I've watched 
and longed from day to day for a bright, clear thot to 
come my way, but it stayed away : it came not about 
and I've found myself completely without. The poor 
little thing that here I've brot has grown because I've 
thot and thot — It's just a crippling affair at best, I'll 
leave it to you to say the rest. I've given no subject 
because I thot that was more dignity than I ought to 
extend to the poor little biz. It's now explained so 
here it is. 

10 



I 



THE ALUMNI POEM OF '98 

RICHSOUARE ACADEMY 

HAVE heard it often told, 
You have heard it 'til it's old, 
How the Alpine avalanche 
Takes up trees, both root and branch, 
Takes up boulders in its course — 
Nothing stands before its force, 
All gives way. And looking back 
There's naught. but ruin in its track. 

To such stories leave the poet — 

They're not true and we know it. 

If one looks up toward the summit 

It is clear, that no plummet 

Set that line. For here and there 

Is a curve ; most anywhere. 

Ask you why those curves were made — 

Why from its path the great force swayed ? 

Here's the reason, all students know it — 
'Tis no answer from a poet — 
Some obstruction in the path 
Heeded not the mighty wrath — 
Only turned it from its course, 
Was really master of that force. 
A pebble, near the mountain top, 
Might have caused it, once, to stop. 
11 



Where the mighty rivers flow 
There is force full well we know — 
Force, that tho it seems at play, 
Soon will eat a hill away. 
Yet a rough stone lying here 
Makes a curve somewhere near — 
And the winding river's so 
Because of stones that check its flow. 

Worlds swing onward in their course, 
We are told, with such great force 
That men can not calculate 
It into numbers small or great 
Yet the school boy, so 'tis told 
By philosophers young and old, 
Turns Earth from its course each day 
Just by jumping in his play. 

Then this conclusion all may reach 
(It's well within the ken of each) 
This universe will all reply 
To the change of atom, low or high, 
And the God who poised it so 
As to slightly come or go 
In response to changes small 
Wastes not anything at all. 

We are mortals living here, 
For some purpose, on this sphere — 
Every action that we make, 
12 



Every thot that we take, 

Every thing- we look or feel 

Has effect for woe or weal 

And in the onward sweep of time 

Adds chord or discord to the rhyme. 

Man to Heaven is on the road 
But may turn from a sharp goad — 
Just a word in anger spoken, 
Just an action may betoken 
What will cause a brother's fall. 
Cost him life and soul and all 
Like the stone that turned the river 
Send the soul far from the giver. 

Let us then be very careful 
Let our lives be ever prayerful 
Let our thots and words and deeds 
Ever be for what man needs — 
Looking to the God in Heaven 
Trust in Him to use our leaven 
And with hearts placed in His hand 
Follow on at His command. 



13 



THE LONE PINE TREE 
1905 

\X TE STAND alone on a sand hill's side 
And view, to the East, a valley wide— 
With homes and orchards, fields and farms, 
Rivers and branches, lakes and arms — 
And miles away, 'gainst eastern sky, 
Rise lines of sand hills, white and high. 

'Tis a beautiful scene — This one we behold 
With its waving fields of grain, turned gold, 
With lakes of water, silver and blue, 
And rivers wending the green sward thru, 
With houses and gardens, fields and wood — 
The view is such as does one good. 

But our gaze it is caut, by a pine tree tall, 

Standing alone — away from all, 

Near a small lake's silver rim. 

The wood's been cut away from him 

And he stands alone in his towering height 

Daring the winds, and all of their might. 

He stands far straighter than any tree 
That from this point one's eyes can see — 
His every line is clear and true 
The whole tree pointing into the blue — 
A mighty tree : standing alone 
Pointing above to the Maker's throne. 
14 



Our mind, from high on the hill of life, 
Looks o'er the valley of daily strife 
With alluring promises — ambition's reward- 
Its glittering joys — Its folly's sward: 
And we think, how grand and how alone 
Is he who lives toward the Father's throne. 



& 



A PARODY 

EXTRACT FROM A LETTER JUNE, 1898 

OITTING in the depot, 

Walking up the track, 
Talking with the loafers, 

Examining the hack, 
Reading all the signs, 

Wondering if 'twill rain, 
Bless me, but it's joyous 

Waiting for a train ! 



15 



THE BELLS OF THE CITY 
1900 

Totally in the grasp of a fit of "The Blues" I sat on a 
veranda in West Richmond and heard the fire bells announce 
"Gas Out," from their three different towers. The following 
line came to me like a benediction of consolation. 

n^HUM-M-ME, Thum-m-me, Thum-m-me, 

We hear the bells of the city — 
From over the river and valley, far, 
Where the homes of thousands of people are, 

We hear the bells of the city — 
Of evenings, when long shadows lay, 
In the quiet night or the busy day 

We hear the bells of the city. 

Thum-m-me, Thum-m-me, Thum-m-me, 

We hear the bells of the city — 
From their far-off distant towers, 
As dutifully they tell the hours, 

We hear the bells of the city. 
Their full tone floats to me 
From some point I can not see. 

We hear the bells of the city. 

Thum-m-me, Thum-m-me, Thum-m-me, 

O, hear the bells of the city — 
As they give the fire alarm, 
Announce "gas out" or other harm, 

We hear the bells of the city. 
16 



And always when their tone is heard 
All pause and do not speak a word ; 
To hear the bells of the city. 

Thum-m-me, Thum-m-me, Thum-m-me, 

We hear the bells of the city. 
The city — a place of daily strife, 
All men rushing as if for life, 

But hear the bells of the city: 
Their every tone does clearly tell 
Of a silent power that guards all well. 

Then hear the bells of the city. 

Thum-m-me, Thum-m-me, Thum-m-me, 

O, hear the bells of the city ! 
Announcing danger and the help that's near, 
Telling the time that all may hear. 

O, hear the bells of the city. 
What's beyond the power of man to meet 
The power of the city does complete — 

O, hear the bells of the city. 

Thum-m-me, Thum-m-me, Thum-m-me, 

I hear the bells of a city. 
Out of the distance and far away 
To the hearts of man comes every day 

The tones of the bells of a city. 
Down thru the day — Thru the quiet of night, 
Telling of care and omnipotent might — 

The clear ringing bells of God's city. 
17 



NUGGETS, WASHED FROM THE SAND 

Every crank for his own handle. 

You can tell the good fruit by the clubs in the 
tree. 

"Snaps" exist only in the minds of unthinking 
people. 

A man isn't fit for anything if his friends can't 
ride him some. 

It's an old and true saying that "Variety is 
the spice of life." But one can't live on spice. 

It's the largest tree that the wind strikes the 
hardest — The more one amounts to the more he 
has to withstand. 

There are many things you say about dogs 
that you can say about men — that's no indica- 
tion that the men are dogs either. 

Christianity is de way yo lib and treats folks. 
Tendin' chu'ch an' praah meetin' dat a'ah mighty 
nice, but it don don't make no Christian. 

I can't think of a more selfish, mean, con- 
temptible man than the one who always wants 
to laugh, but is never willing to be laughed at. 
18 



Those that we see and hear the most are not 
the most important — the hands indicate the hour 
and the tick that it is going, but it's the spring 
that runs the watch. 

Don't expect everything to be perfect — gold 
is not found native. Quartz has to be crushed 
or the sand washed away, but the miner doesn't 
complain about that. 

The whiter the paper the blacker the blot ap- 
pears, the brighter the day the darker the storm 
cloud seems. The darkest night is when the 
stars shine brightest. 

Laws sakes, yuah can done gallivate all ovah 
the worl' chasin' pleasure an' not get one single 
moment's happiness. Happiness comes to de 
h'art for doin' good — It's right from Heaben. 

"Don't get out of your class — Maude S. don't 
belong at a plow. We have a horse out at the 
barn, for which we could not get a hundred dol- 
lars, that is worth a score of her, at farm work." 
— A Friend. 

There are many people today worrying about 
"nothing to do" ; that, if they would spend the 
time and energy, now used in worry, in learning 
how to do something, would soon have so much 
employment they could hardly get time for sleep. 
19 



THE FALLING STAR 

On the night of July 4, 1900, a chance acquaintance re- 
marked, "Somebody's dying," as a meteor glided its down- 
ward way across the northwestern sky. I afterward learned 
that to be part of the folk-lore of our country. I had never 
heard it before, and the trace it left on my mind was far 
brighter than the glow of the meteor. 

T^ID you ever sit of a still, clear night 

And gaze at the heavens blue ? 
When all above was studded with light, 
In that dome so high and true. 

Did you ever gaze in that dome above? 

So far, so great, so grand, 
With its myriads and myriads of twinkling stars 

As numberless as grains of sand. 

And talk, as you gazed so far into space, 

With a friend that was sitting by 
Of the countless stars — of the far far away — 

Talk of their whence, and their what, and their 
why? 

When down from among them one all alone 
Came dropping to earth and to you. 

"A meteor" you cry, as it catches your eye, 
And you watch it pass space thru. 

But the voice at your side, like the ebb of the tide, 

Whispers, "Someone is dying. 
When a star falls from those arched walls 

Some soul to heaven is flying." 
20 



The God that created the heavens and earth 

Created the stars in the blue — 
Created a star for each living one, 

A star's there for me — one for you. 

The great God in his might will put out its light, 
When to Heaven our souls are flying — 

That men may all know, when they see it go, 
That someone, somewhere, is dying. 



$ 



MEDLEY 
1901 

M ARY had a little lamb, 

It's fleece was white as snow," 
"In a barn it used to frolic 
Long time ago." 

"And we'd sail down the river in my little, light canoe," 

"Just as the sun went down." 
"Cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, vol- 
leyed and thundered" 

"And old Dan Tucker came to town." 

"The curfew tolls the knell of the parting day, 
The lowing herds wind slowly o'er the lea," 

"Stay, jailor, stay and hear my woe ! 
She is not mad who kneels to thee !" 
21 



"For every evil under the sun 

There is a cure or there is none," 
"Lift the heart, and bend the knee, 

Warrior that in battle won." 

"Let us sing of the days that are gone, Maggie," 
" T won't,' said the frog, 'so don't make such a row'." 

"I'll say 'Twenty pounds, and it can't be less, 

And twenty pounds, I'm certain, will buy me a 
cow'." 

"There's a land that is fairer than day" 

"By camp fires gleaming, 'mid shot and shell." 

"You're as welcome as the flowers in May," 
"Gin a body kiss a body, need a body tell?" 

"Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you 
are" 

"And the goblins '11 git you if you don't watch out." 
'Give your head a shake, shake, shake, 

And turn your body about." 

'The sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home," 
"From the fields there comes the breath of new- 
mown hay," 

: 'So remember what I say and be true, clear," 

"For a cloudy morning oft brings a pleasant day." 



22 



HANS HOFFER AND HIS LITTLE TOG, SHAKE 

1890 
OOMEVAY I alvays liked togs: beeg, leedle 
^ an mejeum, but my vife, dot is Katerine, she 
only likes leedle vons, pecause da seltom bite 
peobles, alreaty. So ve 'alf some zix or vive 
leedle vellows running de home arount. 

Veil, de oder tay, alreaty, vonce, I vas startin 
town to my lower blace and ven I get on the 
road a leedle vay, alreaty, dar vas my leedle 
plack tog, Shake, running along mit me, py him- 
self. Now I tidn't vant him along so I calls 
him and stops vonce so dot I gits out ven he 
cooms up and catches him, py shore, and trives 
pack to de house mit him. Ven I gits dair I 
kives him to my vife, dot vas Katerine you know, 
and dells her to keep him at home, alreaty. She 
say she vill, tint den I trives avay, right off. 

Ven I kets town to my blace, vat you dink ! dar 
is dat leedle tog, Shake, shust as spry as von 
kricket. So I runs him town — he would not cum 
for callin, by sure, and ven I has him caut I puts 
im in von pasket in de pack of my puggy vat has 
a lit on it. Veil, dinks I, you sthay dar now 
vonce 'til you is vanted, von time, and I koes 
apout my varm. 

Veil, ven I cooms pack, alreaty, dar is Shake, 
vonce, runnin rount alreaty, and he vont coom 
ven I calls him so I runs him town, py sure, and 
catches im again, vonce. And I puts him in a 
pox before de puggy seat dot I puts my feet on 
so he don't get hout — dot makes sure of him. 
Den I coes home and ven my vife, dot vas 
Katerine, cooms to me at de kate says I, vonce, 
23 



"Vy tidn't you keep Shake at ome?" 

Says she, "I tid." 

"Veil," says I, "he vas running arount, alreaty, 
ven I cot to de varm and I haf im in dis beeg 
leetle box." 

"Dar is some mistake," says Katerine, — she is 
my vife, — for Shake is in de voodouse." 

"No-o," says I, "I know my togs." 

"Veil," says she, "ve no quarrel. I show you." 
And she to de voodouse starts on de run. Now 
Katerine, dot is my vife, she is not very vide up 
put she is tall out and she runs fast slow. Put 
ven she opens de door out cooms leedle Shake. 

"Py sure," says I, "dot is von on me, alreaty. 
Now coom dake dis leedle vellow and ven I haf 
hat my tinner I dake him to de varm pack." 

So she did and I unhitched and ved my horse, 
right avay, queek. As I vent to de house I dakes 
de pasket in, along, and as I vas late vonce an 
all de rest done eatin, alreaty, I shust set it town 
on de table and vent to eatin my tinner. Veil, as 
my vife, dot vas Katerine, she stands py de table 
and sees vat I get enuf, alreaty, vas talkin she 
loosens de lid of dot pasked and out shumps an- 
other leedle tog, Shake. Veil, I vas surprised 
also vas my vife — so surprised dat she hollars 
out von leedle, great pig schreem. 

Veil, vat you dinks, alreaty? Py sure, dar 
vas tree leedle Shakes. Von on de table eatin 
butter, vonce. And three on de vloor playin mit 
two. 

Py sure, ven my tinner I hat I hitched up and 
I takes dose lettle togs pack to de varm to fool 
me again, vonce, alreaty, some oder time. 
24 



RICHSQUARE FRIENDS CHURCH 





AND THE NEW. 



25 



THE WANDERING LIGHT 

1897 

LEAVING Chicago in late summer by what is known 
f as the Third Division of the Pan Handle, ones 
first diversion is observing the vast fields of cab- 
bage which, like a mighty sea of green, extend on every 
side to the point where earth and sky blend. Not only 
by the vast expanse of green is one reminded of the 
sea,- but the arms and necks of cabbage extending into 
the suburbs like bays and gulfs, make one feel that the 
little groups of houses on the outskirts must be capes, 
promontories and peninsulas, while here and there a 
few isolated houses surrounded by cabbage on every 
side look so like shore islands or reefs that the traveler 
has to shake himself in order to find again that he is 
in the fields of reality. 

Slowly there blends into this green sea of provender 
for man another color. At first in patches and spots 
but steadily growing in proportion until it predominates 
then excludes all else. It is provender for beasts — 
grass. And dotted about over it like the spots on a 
polkadot kerchief is stored the last year's crop — stacks 
of hay — alone, in pairs, in groups. In all directions 
these gray-brown banks rise and in the distance mat to- 
gether until all earthly, within the optical ken of man, 
is bounded by stacks of hay. 

This sounds monotonous, yet I dare say that nearly 
every one who has made this trip from Chicago to Cin- 
cinnati has drawn many long breaths of admiration as 
they flew through Hoosierdom. It is not all cabbage 
and hay. Soon one passes the prairies and the varying 
views of Indiana's rich cultivation flash in rapid suc- 
cession before him. True it is, railroads are not built 
with a view of displaying the beauty of the country 
through which they pass, yet some exquisite views are 
obtained in each county in making this trip through 
Hoosierdom. 

"The waving fields of golden grain, 

26 



Yield richer store 

Than the silver ore, 

In the mines of all Potosi." 

Thrice blessed are the people who own land here 
and so their homes, their culture, and their education, — 
which is quite strongly indicated by the school house — 
crowned mounds — evince. One feels that the broken 
surface is being entered just in time to save him weary- 
ing of such rich luxury as he has been flying thru. Here 
his eye is attracted by the templed hills. Every mile 
or so there comes to view a school house — one of the 
forts in the republican line of fortification — so freshly 
painted, so newly modeled, so well kept that they at 
once convince the observer of wide-awake interest 
taken in them. And the long, slim, straight flag-poles 
that stand by most of them bear evidence of home- 
loving, country-loving hearts in their vicinity. Such 
hearts make happy homes and pleasant lives. They 
know or partly know that "God is love," and Heaven, 
where love reigns supreme. Thus living they have 
part of Heaven on earth because so much love is in their 
homes and lives. 

The rural districts and villages in this part of Indi- 
ana, tho within a few miles of some of America's 
largest and busiest cities and within the most railroad 
netted section on the earth's face, are in many ways 
strikingly quiet. The majority of these homes are very 
domestic. The great benefits of their education being 
shown in living up to the idea, "If you would make a 
man happy, strive not to increase his means, but to de- 
crease his wants." Instead of roaming about the world 
and spreading out their minds to the wants of every 
zone and clime, they live at home ; make it the most 
attractive place on earth to their children and the dear- 
est under Heaven to their own hearts and with apprecia- 
tion, strong, look about them for the beauties God has 
placed at their door ; for the blessings he has given in 
true friendship, kind neighbors, and loving kindred. 
Thus "Happy the man whose wish and cares a few 
paternal acres bound" comes to be their lot. 

27 



Midst such people the one institution that comes to 
the home is the school; which gives to the minds of 
the children and youth a line of employment at once de- 
lightful and beneficial. Hence, next to the minister, 
the schoolmaster comes to be the source of consolation 
and advice in their existence and oft times, if he is a 
Godly man, his intimacy, his counsel and his entertain- 
ment even come to be more close and appreciated than 
those of the minister. 

In one of these quiet, happy neighborhoods, a few 
short years ago, there taught a teacher young in years, 
but thoughtful to a degree much in excess of many 
older, whose wish and aim was to benefit mankind — to 
make the earth better than what he found it. A few 
years in college and a few in city business life led him 
to more fully appreciate the happiness and quiet of these 
country homes, with which he had now come to be so 
closely connected, and enabled him to more easily lead 
the pupils to enjoy the knowledge gained without cre- 
ating a desire to travel and acquire possession. A 
greater factor in human happiness is not known than 
reasonable satisfaction. Smiles would rest on nearly 
every face if all minds were like that of the poor man 
who was looking at a rich friend's casket of diamonds. 
Being asked if he wouldn't like to have them, he said : 
"O, I get more pleasure out of them than he does. I 
can see all their beauty and that is all he gets, but he 
has to assume the responsibilities of guarding them 
from thieves while I have nothing to trouble my sleep." 
Life's joys are not gotten from a swinish desire to 
possess every thing, but from the pleasure of knowing 
that the things exist and being able to appreciate their 
beauties. The one idea that seemed to pervade this 
teacher's school was a love of country, friends and 
home. As the starry banner rose to its position on the 
pole of mornings, gracefully, beautifully displaying its 
colors to the sun and breeze, cheers could be heard in 
every direction, varying in clearness and strength, ac- 
cording to the distance that they came and the lungs 
that gave them origin. 

28 



A place in the hearts of the pupils soon gave this 
young man a welcome into their homes and the high 
regard of their brothers and sisters, no longer in school, 
while the little tots, not yet old enough to enter its 
domain, looked upon him with a feeling of loving awe 
and admiration. It would seem that so surrounded 
with respect and affection one would be exquisitely 
happy. So indeed he should, but this teacher felt de- 
pressed — felt loaded with care and responsibility. It is 
a strange fact, but nevertheless true, that most men 
who do their duty as fully as they know how get dis- 
satisfied because they can't do the duty of others. No 
man on earth has a right to be happy if the Christian 
hasn't. Yet it is common to hear ministers say, "It is 
a question whether one should ever be gay and lively — 
dares be light and trivial." Yet no man who looks 
around him carefully can doubt that rail-faced, melan- 
choly voiced, sombre dressed church members have 
done more to keep the world from Christ than any ele- 
ment of the devil's workers. These long-faced "Chris- 
tians" (?) forget that Jesus came as a Savior and try 
to take the world's salvation onto their own shoulders. 
They are generous hearted, to be sure, but such a load 
is too much for mortality, that is why Jesus came. Di- 
vine power was required and divine power was sent. 
This that teacher failed to see. 

He did see, however, that in his school there were 
little disagreements between pupils, disobedience and 
rudeness on the part of pupils ; that in the district 
neighbors occasionally back-bit, cheated, or otherwise 
mistreated each other; that in the neighboring town at 
times were fights, brawls, blackmailings and slander- 
ings ; that in the papers were long accounts detailing 
prize fights, robberies, murders and suicides, all of 
which crept into this quiet neighborhood in more or 
less marked ways and marred its tranquil beauty as 
a muddy rivulet tarnishes a clear river or the edge of 
a cloud darkens the beauty of an otherwise fine morn- 
ing. Ofttimes the spirit of "Peace on earth, good will 
toward men" growing in a youthful heart would be 
thus seemingly totally destroyed, — the spirit of love, 
29 



purity, and patriotism seemingly stunted. (Had it 
been his to right all these wrongs the load would have 
been enough to discourage him.) This he saw and 
was laden, but he was conscientious and no man can 
be conscientious without producing results. What the 
teacher saw he saw only in part — the immediate re- 
sults, while the future growth of the moral character 
around the wound he could not see. Much that man 
sees and thinks is bad is only seen in part, God sees 
it in full and knows 'tis good. 'Tis the blowing of the 
wind that makes the oak sturdy, — the freezing of the 
wheat that makes it "stool-out" and produce ten to 
twenty heads where there would have been but one. 

The teacher often said to himself as he sat by his fire 
and mused (or looked from his window at the setting 
sun, or wandered about 'mid the country's quiet scenes), 
"That 'there is never a day without a cloud' may be 
doubted, but surely there was never a neighborhood 
without a 'kicker'. O ! that men could only see what 
a sweet peaceable world this would be if they would 
leave alone each other's business. Why as I look 
about me at their strugglings I'm reminded of their 
own swine that, when a pail of swill is emptied into 
their trough, root at each other and crowd one an- 
other about until much of the slop is splashed onto 
the ground and the remainder drank by a few of their 
number that did not try to crowd their neighbors out. It 
seems to me men ought to see that selfishness reacts 
and that its worst effects are on the possessor." 

While pondering these thoughts one morning and 
longing to help each of his pupils to love and live them, 
a scholar just arriving said, "I saw the Wandering 
Light last night" "What is that?" the teacher asked, 
and the pupil, a young man of nearly the teacher's own 
age, told him of a marvelous light that at various 
times had been seen in that neighborhood. Its rays 
were pure and white ; it moved about steadily and 
quietly, yet none had ever been able to draw near to 
it ; it had been seen in wood and field, on hill and in 
hollow, in winter and spring, summer and autumn; 
but it had always appeared within a radius of two 
30 



miles. It was not lightning nor a falUng star, it was 
not an artificial light, nor a will-o'-the-wisp; it never 
flashed suddenly, into • existence nor suddenly disap- 
peared. Instead it dawned slowly from whence no one 
ever knew and quietly vanished at just what time or 
place the observer was never able to exactly tell. "No 
one fears it. In .fact, all rather long for a more inti- 
mate acquaintance," the young- man went on, "for our 
grandmothers tell us that the Indians used to say it 
was carried by ,a good spirit sent by the Great Father 
and that some, day-it would prove a blessing to some 
one. Of course,, each .hopes that it may fall to his lot 
and some have .even, tried to catch up with the light in 
order to give, an opportunity for the blessing to be be- 
stowed upon, them. What that blessing may be is un- 
known, some, think riches, some fame, some beauty, 
.some . happiness, some contentment, but that is the 
story of the Wandering Light." 

,. • That day the teacher mused, when tasks allowed, 
of the mysterious Wandering Light. When the even- 
ing came and the scholars had gone r e sat down to 
.rest his mind from the day's toil by reading from the 
poets but over the page a light seemed to wander and 
often he raised his eyes to view the landscape and 
•muse in regard to the Wandering Light. The day fol- 
lowing he asked the boy for details of his seeing it. 
He said that on the preceding evening he had gone to 
set up with a sick neighbor and late at night, very weary 
and sleepy, had started home across a wood but had 
lost his course and wandered quite a while when from 
some unknown quarter came a beautiful white light 
and moved in an accompanying manner until as he 
followed it he came to some trees that he recognized 
as near his home. For a moment he forgot his mys- 
terious companion in the joy of having found his loca- 
tion then, as he turned to look for it, he had found 
it gone. When or where he knew not. 

The days went on and with them duties came and 

went, many occurences went down into the history of 

the past and the teacher was busy, yet he forgot not 

the Wandering Light and ofttimes yearned to know 

31 



of its blessing. The stories told by the neighborhood 
mothers and grandmothers all came to be familiar to 
his mind yet he was not satisfied and ofttimes as he read 
from his favorite poets or sat by his window, after a 
hard day's work and mused; or walked mid nature's 
beauties — drinking in the blessings of God thus direct- 
ly from his hand — he found his mind clinging fondly 
to the mystery of the Wandering Light and his 
imagination building beautiful explanations of its mis- 
sion. 

The first few days following a deep snow-fall there 
are few breaks upon its surface. The rural folk seem 
to be hemmed in by it or loth to mar its pure beauty, 
cattle stand in the barn yard or one corner of the 
field, even the hogs only break down a small area and 
though now and then one will wander out from the 
trampled zone a few feet, it is only to grunt disconso- 
lately and return to his fellows ; but after two or three 
days the hogs, the cattle and the horses all become rest- 
less and wade about just for exercise and the people 
begin again to pursue the occupations of life. One 
morning in the dead of winter when the snow lay thus 
unbroken upon the landscape one of the school girls 
said, "I saw the Wandering Light last night." The 
night before a neighbor on his way to the train had 
stopped at her father's home and begged that one of 
the family go to his house to stay with his children, 
as he and his wife were unexpectedly called away 
and the children were at home alone. He had been at 
several of the neighbors, he said, and found no one 
that would go so he had stopped here as the only re- 
maining hope. Though her brothers objected, her 
parents did not encourage, the weather was cold, the 
night dark, and it entirely overturned some pleasures 
planned, she had gone. Sometime after midnight her 
slumbers had been disturbed. Listening, she had 
heard sounds as though some one were trying to enter 
the house. Immediately she thought of burglars. 
Slipping from bed she peeped from behind the curtains. 
Without it was intensely dark but against the snow she 
could see the outline of two men who were then at- 
32 



tempting to pry np a window. As she watched think- 
ing what 'twas best to do and almost fearing to breathe, 
a pure white light came down the road, stopped at the 
bridge and then, as the men fled, it crossed the garden, 
followed the course they had taken and disappeared. 
Its appearance so reassured her that she went to bed 
and to sleep trusting the wondrous Wandering Light 
for protection. She had in the morning found the 
burglars' tracks, but where the Wandering Light had 
been the snow was undisturbed. That evening the 
teacher visited the scene but could find nothing to 
solve the mystery of the Wandering Light. 

This second appearance of the Wandering Light so 
closely in the wake of its last caused much talk in the 
homes of this quiet country neighborhood. That it had 
never appeared before except after long intervals of 
absence seemed a historic fact and this sudden change 
of its tactics caused interest and comment. All the 
incidents of its appearance since white men came to 
know of it, were told and retold until they were 
familiar to every child. The teacher heard them and, 
in the manner of students, tried to draw firstlies, second- 
lies and conclusivelies, but they would not draw ; so 
he came at last to admit that the Wandering Light was 
as much a mystery to him as to any one. Further, 
he came to put much faith in the old Indian tradition 
and he often longed for a full knowledge of its mission 
to man. Much reading from the poets may have caused 
him to be more credulous ; faith in God and his love 
for man may have caused it ; it may have been weak- 
ness. Be that as it may, it is safe to say that no one 
more fully trusted in a fulfillment of the prophecy 
than did the teacher. 

Spring came. The rough winds of winter gave place 
to balmy southern ones ; the cold, deep-drifted snow 
gave place to barren hills and fields, which in their 
turn gave place to grass and flowers ; the screech of 
snow and pop of frozen trees were no more, but in 
their stead came the chirp of insects and twitter of 
birds. Mid the rush and planning that comes with the 
spring nearly all forgot the Wandering Light. Of the 
33 



few who still gave it a place in their thoughts the 
teacher was one. Yet he had not mentioned it for 
weeks and was busy with the closing scenes of his 
school, when one forenoon a patron came to the door 
inquiring if any one had seen a certain little four-year- 
old girl. He said she had wandered away and had not 
been seen since early morning. As none of the scholars 
had seen her the teacher requested that, if she had 
not yet been found, word be sent him at noon. Noon 
came and a messenger reported that no traces had yet 
been found so the teacher dismissed the school, sent 
home the younger pupils and organized a search party 
of those older. Throughout the afternoon the search 
went on — through fields, over hills, in hollows, by 
branches and rivers, yet no word came. Men and 
women ate a hasty supper only again to resume the 
search, especially in the wood and by the river. The 
night was thus far spent when the clear tone of a 
farmer's bell broke upon the silent air and was quickly 
followed by another. Then shouts arose and shout 
answered shout, for this was the signal of the finding. 
Weary searchers hastened toward the home of the child 
and the bells both far and near pealed forth to cheer 
their hearts. 

When they arrived she was there alive and well, but 
who had found her? This no one knew. Her mother 
sitting in the kitchen alone had heard a patter of feet 
on the porch and turning to the door had met her. 
The only explanation was the child's story : "Dathered 
pitty flowers for Dranma. Dot 'ost. Stopped by a 
dreat big tree and tried. Den next it was all dark 
and I was told and hungry and I tried adain. Den 
a pitty w'ite 'ite tummed and I went wiv it to w'ite 
here and dats all." 

The child's story was told. So far as she knew that 
was all, but the people said "It was the Wandering 
Light" and went to their homes in silence for they 
felt more than words could express. 

The week following as the teacher sat in his school 
room one evening, musing in the twilight over the 
poem he had been reading before the darkness fell, 
34 



by that peculiar sensation, which informs one of 
the presence of another though unseen, the teacher 
became aware that he was not alone. Raising his 
eyes he saw, crossing the room, the figure of a 
maiden, noiseless of motion, beautiful of feature, per- 
fect of contour and with a hallowed head. The pure 
whiteness of her robe, the perfection of contour, the 
airiness of appearance, the radiance of face and hal- 
lowed head all proved her more than mortal. When 
she stopped before him waiting — waiting it seemed for 
him to speak, he said, "Fair visitant, to this my loved 
room, I fain would ask thee what thou art, whence thou 
comest, and on what mission," "I am a servant of the 
Creator," the visitor replied, "and in His service hap- 
py. I came from nearly at thy door. For years my 
home has been among these hills and hollows. I have 
seen them occupied by savages, have seen civilization 
dawn and brighten on them and now see promise of 
it crystalizing into the pure clear light of day, when 
man will love his neighbor as himself and do unto 
others as he would have others do unto him." Tis 
mine to record deeds of more than ordinary sacrifice 
and love and to reward the actor in an apparent man- 
ner. I am here because I desire to speak with one 
who in his work develops so much love and tender- 
ness in the hearts of those with whom he comes in 
contact — one whose work to my record has added much. 
Dost thou know the good that thou art doing?" 

The teacher's face was sober, his nerves felt a pe- 
culiar thrill but his answer was quiet and came from 
the depths of his heart. "I have hoped to be doing 
some good and I often think that I am, but the world 
is so large that what I do goes but a little way. Then 
there are so many who, it seems to me, ought to help, 
who do not, and so many who claim much that do so 
little or nothing at all that I ofttimes feel sorely dis- 
couraged." 

"Ah ! my friend," his vistor replied, "the cloud is 

of thy own making. Take courage, be of good cheer. 

Men being satisfied with what is good say nothing, 

but complain of what is bad. That is why wrong seems 

35 



predominant. Look for the good — thou wilt find it if 
thou dost. Do thy part — let thy light shine in the 
darkness, trusting the rest to Him who controls the 
universe — thou wilt be happy if thou dost. 'Tis true 
thy teachings are not heard by all the world, but thou 
canst not see their future effects. If they are now heard 
and believed by a few, is not that enough? They will 
go forth teaching to others who in their turn will ex- 
tend them on through future generations. Thou hast 
helpers — everywhere. And no idea, which does not 
prove faulty, is ever forgotten — so the world from day 
to day grows better. Then worry not. 'Tis only thine 
to live in one place, only thine to live one moment at 
a time. 'Tis only a part of the air and light that falls 
to thy lot, only a few of the world's beauties that thou 
seest, nor wouldst thou have it otherwise even if thou 
couldst for thou dost not wish to rob thy fellow men 
of their portion of these blessings. Why then shouldst 
thou try to cure all wrongs, why try to take the bur- 
dens of others upon thy shoulders, when unasked? 
Cure thine own faults, do thine own part, let thy light 
shine in the darkness and trust the Unseen Guide, who 
rules the universe, for the proper application of thy 
work." 

She passed from the room. The teacher was alone. 
Without the darkness of night had gathered and there 
by his window a pure white light was shining which 
quietly glided over the brow of a western hill and dis- 
appeared at a moment of which the teacher was un- 
certain. 



The teacher told the story as I tell it to you, and 
some said he had received the blessing, but others, and 
he among them, believe that for some pure heart there 
is something richer yet in store, and now when the 
Wandering Light is seen by the people of that quiet 
country neighborhood — which is much oftener than it 
used to be — the observer hopes that some day he too 
may see and talk with the bearer of the Wandering 
Light. 

36 




Richsqjjare Academy Building as it Appeared Before ] 



37 



Copies of "Alpha" zvill be mailed to any address on 
receipt of the retail price — twenty-five cents. 
Address all orders to 

MERTON W. GRILLS, 

Hagerstown, Indiana. 

I would like to hear from each purchaser and reader 
of "Alpha." If the reading public enjoys this a more 
extensive volume may follozv. 

I am respectfully, the author, 

"ME." 



38 



M>b 31 1908 



